


Listen to Him

by some_fiction



Series: Vigilantes vs. Life [3]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Doctor Who (2005), Jessica Jones (TV), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Crossover, Kilgrave mentioned, Mistaken Identity, Time Travel, some christmas fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-22 06:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17055056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/some_fiction/pseuds/some_fiction
Summary: Martha and the Doctor travel to Hell's Kitchen, where they have some interesting encounters...





	1. Not a Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically this is part of a series, but there is no need to have read any of the other stories to follow this one.  
> Also: If you've just seen one of these shows, it should be okay.... I hope... ;) And you can skip this part and continue with "Hooe" if you're not interested in a Doctor Who Crossover.

Their destination is supposed to be a pacifist planet that managed to resolve every conflict with ridiculously commercialised sports spectacles that everyone could benefit from for about 300 years. Until a rematch of a game was announced that had such a clear winner that even the losers were blindsided by the decision. The incident made clear exactly how corrupted the system had become and within weeks there was a huge civil war across the entire planet. The first thing that was banned right after the fighting ended was all kinds of sport.

However, this is not where the TARDIS brings Martha and The Doctor. Instead, the time travelling space ship lands in Hell’s Kitchen some time before Christmas where newspaper headlines about gang wars, corruption and disappearing children already indicate that this is not going to be the break from adventure Martha was hoping for.

In fact: “I'm not sure I actually believe that these planets you're babbling about all exist. We never end up where we want to go anyway. I think a lot of it must be completely made up, just to make me curious.” That alien she somehow decided to travel with never seems to have much of a plan. He has this habit of making things up as they go along. But it's part of the appeal, she has to admit.

“Come on, you love it!” She rolls her eyes at his eyebrow-waggling. “I made you meet Shakespeare, didn't I? This is gonna be brilliant, too. And for your information: Dzklvcf is a very real, beautiful place and the Dzjbffians - a charming species really - will be quite insulted hearing that you doubt their entire existence. As soon as they find out on our next trip there...”

Yeah… sure they will. Also, she’s pretty sure that planet was called differently half an hour ago. Or a century ago, it's hard to keep up with the timelines. But the Doctor’s enthusiasm is just too infectious, so she finds herself smiling despite herself as he picks up a newspaper and makes an appreciative sound: “Oh, look at that! They have vigilantes in this area. Now, that should be fun, right?”

She’s not so sure the “Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” is a character she’d like to meet in the dark, to be honest. Who calls himself something like that and isn't a complete psychopath? Of course, the Doctor loves the idea of vigilantes. People challenging the powerful scumbags in society and breaking rules all over the place. They are right up his alley, unless they are breaking his rules, of course, which are:

No unnecessary violence. (Just run if there's trouble. And there will be.)

Don’t wander off. (Although: why travel with companions then who seem to like doing just that?)

And this one is the hardest to accept: Don’t interfere with established events. Who exactly decides whatever these fixed points in time are? What has to happen? Who can be saved? What tragedies should be prevented and which ones are necessary to learn from? Or is it maybe just random?

“Do you hear that?” Now there's not just that curious energy in his voice, but a hint of alarm. His eyes light up at the promise of a new mystery. Trouble. Right. “I think I can hear someone fighting…!”

He breaks into a sprint and Martha catches up with him fast. Three alleys down they find the origin of that noise and she curses the TARDIS for bringing them right to the Devil. Of course, the ship usually seems to bring them right where they're needed. Which means either the guy with the horns has to be locked away or he is going to need their help. Although right now she's leaning towards him being the bad guy. At least that's the logical conclusion if you see someone dressed up as satan apparently torturing someone. But if her journeys with the Doctor has taught her anything it is not to judge a book by its cover.

Her alien travel guide seems to be on the same page, though. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”

The Devil pushes the man he seems to be questioning roughly against the wall and holds him there. “I'm trying to find a missing kid. What's it to you?”

His voice sounds deep and dangerous, not like someone they should be provoking… “Doctor…” She wants to remind him that while he might just change his appearance when he gets killed, humans like herself only have one life to spend.

“You do know that it doesn't really work, right? Torture...”

Of course, the first thing he does is lecture the dangerous man with advanced fighting skills like an arrogant know-it-all. She's tempted to return to the TARDIS on her own, but someone has to look after this madman or she won't have a driver to bring her back home and become a real doctor. Fortunately the Devil he’s talking to seems to be busy hitting someone else. “It does work when you know they're lying.” He then punches the man again. “And you are, aren't you? You do know where they are keeping the boy. Tell me!”

So, he’s doing it to save a child at least, but his punches aren't exactly reluctant. Martha has a feeling that the guy is enjoying this. Is he dressing up as a devil to punish people for their crimes?

“Stop it! There has to be another way to do this.”

The vigilante really doesn't care for the distraction and now he looks like he will soon be losing his patience with them. Kicking the man who may be a criminal half heartedly he growls at the Doctor: "I wish there was another way… But I don't have time for this...”

“Give me his phone.” The Doctor holds out his hand with an encouraging smile while the masked man seems to stare at him, his jaw tensed. “Please. Just let me try something. Your... interrogation will take longer.”

It's not like she doesn't trust the Doctor. He knows what he's doing, but she certainly doesn't trust the guy who's hiding his face. How would he be able to see through that thing..? Is he even human?

To her surprise, though, the man does reach inside his victim's jacket to search for something. Then, to everyone's surprise, the guy he tortured uses this moment to attack him with a brick against the head. In the struggle the phone falls to the ground, but it slides too far out of reach and the criminal decides to leave it and make a run for it. At first the vigilante starts to follow him, but it looks like his head took more damage than it seemed. After Martha picks up the phone she sees him holding his head with one hand and steadying himself against the wall with the other. He curses softly and then turns back around to them.

“Please, tell me you can open that.” His voice now sounds a lot less menacing, almost gentle.

Before he uses the sonic screwdriver to unlock the phone, the Doctor points it at this Daredevil guy with a frown. “You should probably go to a hospital. You have a broken bone and maybe a concussion now…”

Suddenly the vigilante is back to being the scary man in the dark again, standing tall in front of the Doctor and warning him: “This is none of your business. Open the phone or I'll make you. A child’s life is at stake here. I'm not joking!”

“I'm not joking either. You really shouldn't be fighting criminals like this.” He raises his eyebrows, still reading his scan curiously. "Then again, going by how often your bones have already been broken and healed badly, you never go to the hospital. So, never mind."

The Doctor takes the phone then and reluctantly opens it with his buzzing screwdriver muttering darkly… “There's no need for violence. I promise you'll regret it.”

“Oh, I know I will…” And again he sounds more tired than scary.

The Doctor is just browsing through the phone when they hear footsteps approach. A woman in a costume with cat ears - probably that Hellcat person - appears around the corner yelling: “Shit, you lost the other one, too?!”

Martha expects the vigilante to blame the Doctor for this, since it kind of is his fault. But the Devil’s head is held low and he swallows as if he’s blaming himself, not really the man he was arguing with before. “Yeah… but this guy thinks he can find something in the man’s phone.”

The woman only glances at the Doctor who’s still searching through the messages. Her focus is on the guy she's working with, so when she reaches them she first inspects his head carefully. “This doesn't look good, Devil Boy…”

“It's fine. You're bleeding, too.” It's weird, Martha doesn't see any wound on the woman or tear in her costume, so she has no idea what he's seeing.

“Yeah… well, they tried to hit me with a car, but I was too fast.” There’s a cocky smile spreading on her face. “I told Jessica to look out for them.”

That's when the Doctor suddenly looks up with a huge grin: “I knew all this sounded familiar. You're talking about Jessica Jones, aren't you..? This is brilliant! Then you must be Matt Murdock and Trish-”

And that's when the woman suddenly knocks him out with a fast hook, looking back at “Matt” with a pale expression that is even visible with half her face under the mask. “Did he give you any orders?”

“What?” Daredevil seems just as confused as Martha by this turn of events.

“You can’t just punch someone unconscious like that…!” This has gotten out of control fast. 

“He’s not just anyone. He’s psychopath!” Wow, that woman is not joking. She's very convinced that she knows the Doctor. Could it actually be that she does, somehow? That she saw him do something that looked very dubious, maybe?

“Hey, calm down.” Looks like the Devil guy is the voice of reason between those two. Who would have thought? “What are you talking about? He didn't seem dangerous before.…” Yeah, you were the dangerous masked freak who was torturing someone, Martha agrees. But she doesn't say anything. Some hero.

“That…” The crazy cat lady points at the Doctor, her arm trembling, voice now wavering. “...is Kilgrave.” She's clearly terrified.

The name also seems to mean something to her partner, because he now pales as well. No, that can’t be right. Sure, the Doctor is known by many names and some of them make people tremble with fear, but only the bad guys and despite their tendency to use violence, people who want to save kids are usually not too bad.

“Hang on a second….”, Martha starts carefully. “Um… who’s this Kilgrave guy supposed to be? I think you’re making a mistake here…”

Suddenly the redhead with the cat mask turns to her angrily. “He looks and sounds exactly like him. That is a mind controlling mass murderer.”

“Isn't Kilgrave supposed to be dead?” Finally a helpful comment. Maybe this Devil of Hell’s Kitchen charcter isn't so bad after all.

“He wouldn't be the first to come back from the dead though, would he? And he knew Jessica’s name!” Martha has never heard of this Jessica woman. Maybe she traveled in the TARDIS, too? The masked man seems to actually consider this crazy idea of the Doctor being this evil mastermind. “You especially won't be able to live with the things he’s gonna make you do. Jessica can’t go through that again. Please, trust me and let me kill him…!”

“Woah… no! Seriously, you've got the wrong man here. The Doctor is against violence and he’d never try to take anyone’s free will. I won't let you kill him.” Martha has her head held high, but she can imagine the woman now raising her eyebrows at her under her mask.

“Oh really…? And how exactly are you going to stop me? Did he maybe order you to attack anyone who threatens him..?” The woman now holds her hand like a claw making sharp little knives appear on each fingertip and holding them against the Doctor’s throat.

This is enough. Martha then grabs the sonic screwdriver and points it at the woman. She can't know that it's not exactly a weapon. “Leave him alone.”

“So, you ARE threatening me now?”

“Only because YOU want to kill a man who can't even defend himself right now.”

Suddenly the Devil steps in front of Martha, facing the crazy cat lady. “Please, I don't think she actually intends to hurt anyone with that thing." He tries to make her lower that claw. "And did Kilgrave even have two hearts like this man…?”

Now the woman looks like this piece of information actually throws her off for a second. But then the Doctor begins to stirr - probably earlier than they expected - and everything happens way too fast. Before Martha can react and help her friend, Daredevil knocks her out. And she just started to trust the guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most people would agree that David Tennant was a pretty creepy villain as Kilgrave, right? However, having watched him as the Doctor before made it even worse for me, because there were moments when his acting was just too familiar. So I'd imagine Jessica would certainly freakout if she met the time traveling alien and Trish would very much try to prevent that meeting if she didn't kill the man on sight.
> 
> So, I wrote this a while ago, then accidentally deleted it and now I just wanted to write something short, so I came back to it.


	2. Questions, Answers & Silly Orders

Martha wakes up in a strange apartment. A colourful neon ad and the lights of the Christmas decoration in the street are giving the place a surreal vibe through the large windows. Her hands are tied behind her back and so are the Doctor’s. They must have made sure that he’s out of it for a long time, because usually he has already thought of several ways to escape when she joins him in consciousness. She pushes his shoulder to wake him up and whispers: “Doctor…! Please, we have to get out of here...” But there's no reaction. Looks like they're gonna spend Christmas evening as hostages in Hell's Kitchen.

At least these vigilantes haven't killed them yet for some reason and she can hear them talk quietly. The man who must be the Devil is now treating the crazy cat lady’s wounds who turns out to be a blonde. Somehow that doesn't surprise her. Shit, the Doctor is going to flirt with her, isn’t he? He always likes the blondes... At least this one hates him.

Apparently they took them here because they have no lead on their kidnapping case anymore, due to that phone being locked again. Huh… that at least means that they could maybe use the Doctor’s help. A reason to keep him alive. They have both taken off their costumes - to take care of their injuries she assumes - which means if they are desperate enough to hide their identities, they are going to kill them. Martha thinks she will have to win their trust to survive. But how? Maybe what they are talking about could give her some clues.

“I'm sorry for freaking out when I saw him. It was fine after he wasn't able to talk anymore, but I was in shock. I truly believed he might have given you orders already or that you don't believe me…”

“Relax, Trish. I promise I won't let him go until you're also convinced that he’s harmless. But I won't let you hurt him either, unless I'm convinced that he’s Kilgrave.” She winces as he puts pressure on her wound before carefully wrapping bandages around it. “It would be easier if Jessica could-”

“NO! She’s finally in a good place. We’re not gonna pull her back into this Kilgrave shit. She needs to be as far from this as possible.” Blondie is clearly agitated, so he lays a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Okay… I understand. The girl is awake, by the way.” Shit! How does he know? Did he hear her talk to the Doctor?

The woman sighs and jumps off the table making her way over to Martha with the guy close behind her. Now that they look like normal people, they're a bit less scary at least. Well, the blonde still looks pretty anxious and Martha doesn't like the way she glances at the Doctor. The Devil though just told her he won't let her hurt him and Martha finds that she really wants to believe that. They each take a chair and sit down in front of them.

Hellcat leans forward then to intimidate her. “So, here is how this goes: You're going to answer our questions truthfully and trust that we'll know when you're lying. Because when you do, I'm going to kill this man, alright?” Daredevil then tilts his head in that weird way he also did in the costume.

“I'd be lying if I said: yes, that's alright,” Martha points out and a bitter laugh escapes the woman who’s now merely inches in front of her.

“Sassy. I like it. Brainwashed slaves usually aren’t sassy.” She looks at the guy next to her who seems to stare at nothing as if he’s absent minded. But he nods slowly, so she goes on. “This is Matt Murdock and I'm Trish Walker. We figured this man knew our identities anyway. So, there's no point hiding them from you and we brought you to Matt’s place to talk...”

“Wait a second…” She knows that name and suddenly the woman’s face looks oddly familiar. Like an older version of a girl that Martha was not afraid of at all. “You're Patsy…?!”

The apparently fake blonde now looks at her like she wants to kill her with her ice cold stare. But she goes on, clearly annoyed: “I go by Trish nowadays…”

Wow. In her time this woman is still a lot younger and trying to go from child star to pop star with a horrible song and a trashy music video to go with it. If she doesn't want to be reminded of that Martha really can't blame her. And how did she then end up becoming a vigilante…?! In any case, she’s much more intrigued by Trish now that she used to be a wannabe singer. There has to be a story there.

“I'm Martha. I'd say nice to meet you, but to be honest I'm not so thrilled about the circumstances.” Being with the Doctor leads to unfriendly encounters on a regular basis, so Martha is a bit used to it. Normally, they also manage to turn things around and get people on their side. Still, she's not gonna pretend the death threats don't bother her and it would be real helpful if the smartass next to her could join this conversation. Although, right now he has a tape over his mouth, probably a precaution, so he can't give anyone orders. Looks like it's her turn then to talk them out of this mess.

After a few moments “Trish” has managed to shake of that memory of her past again and continues her interrogation. “You have to explain to us, how he knows our names and how he knows Jessica if he isn't Kilgrave.”

“That you would have to ask him. My guess is that the Doctor must have seen you at some point.” Or he will meet you in your future, Martha thinks, but doesn't say. “Or maybe, he could have met someone who knows you. He’s extremely clever. If anyone could figure it out, it's him.” She’s not lying, just leaving some stuff out. So far, so good.

“Okay, sounds like we’ll have to ask him himself later,” the man with the weirdly unfocused eyes says and smiles to break some of the tension, she thinks. Martha decides she rather likes Matt and not just because he's a bit pretty. He seems to try to resolve this situation without any more violence after all. At least there's no hint of danger in those eyes that for some reason never really seem to meet her gaze… which is weird. Or maybe…

Could it be...? ...!

“You're blind! Oh my god!” Wow, the Doctor would love that! Well, maybe it's a bit sad as well, but it's also rather badass, if he's still able to run around town and beat up bad guys. And it explains a lot about this apartment, actually... The huge neon ad outside, the fact that there is nothing lying around and that it feels quite impersonal. It still looks oddly stylish, though.

Matt’s eyebrows are now raised and there's a rather cocky smile spreading on his face. “Ah, yes. I can't see.”

Now Patsy - or Trish - rolls her eyes with a tiny smirk mumbling: “Here we go…”

Okay, considering that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is supposed to be a very strong and capable fighter, normal people would probably have questions about how that works without eyesight. But to be honest, she's seen stranger things traveling with the Doctor, so she just shrugs. “Well, I guess there are other ways to see..." She knows a guy for instance who keeps licking stuff to find out what it is... which is gross, by the way.

Her conclusion seems to please Matt so much he is actually grinning from ear to ear now. Oh god. He’s cute. What the hell?! She saw him torture a guy today! How can he be cute?

Trish however seems to be confused by her easy acceptance of all that, but she just continues with her questions. “I'm guessing then that you're quite familiar with people having special abilities. So what about this man you call Doctor: Is there anything... unusual he can do?”

Okay, they must have heard of aliens in this time, but Martha isn't exactly sure if they're friendly towards them, since some alien races did try to invade Earth. So, she decides she's not gonna tell them that the Doctor belongs to a species called time lords that only look exactly like humans (or as he would say: humans look like his people).

“The Doctor - as you know - has two hearts. It's a strange condition that makes him a bit stronger than regular humans you could say and his senses are a bit better as well." Matt's would have to be even more sensitive though and since they seem to share a look - as much as you can do that with a blind man - she's probably on the right track there.

"And like I said, he’s incredibly smart which sometimes means he has to help government agencies fight alien threats.” See? They can’t have anything against that. And it’s all true. Okay, often he also ends up saving aliens from humans, but there's no need to get into all of that... This is going well, she thinks.

But Trish looks a bit worried now. “You mean he is working with S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

Martha has never heard of that organisation. “I don't know. If they are US based, maybe not. He told me he usually works with UNIT. But I promise, we won't tell anyone about you guys!”

“Are you two from the UK?” It's the first time that Matt asked something.

“Well, I am from London. The Doctor is from this place called Gallifrey. I've never heard of it before I met him…” It's a planet that's doesn't exist anymore, Martha doesn't say. It died with all the other time lords.

“Okay, so what brings you to Hell’s Kitchen and how long have you been traveling together?”

These questions don't get easier to answer, if she can't lie. And the truth… it's going to sound very strange: “I'm not sure for how long I know him now. A couple of months maybe? And, I guess, we’re here on a mission. We just don't know what it is… yet.” That sounds more believable than: His sentient spaceship dumped us here and I still have no clue why. It might have something to do with you.

“Okay… what's his actual name? Is he called Kevin maybe? Did anyone ever call him that?”

Martha laughs, because the idea of the Doctor with a common name is just weird to her now. “No, he calls himself John Smith when we're really trying to blend in. I know, not making much of an effort, is he? But people usually know him as the Doctor.”

Trish then looks at Matt sceptically. “Is all of that true…?”

He shrugs and shakes his head, apparently amused. “There is nothing that indicates to me that she's lying… Also, I think her lies would probably sound more believable.”

That's probably true.

“Okay, maybe tell us a lie for once, just so Matt has has an idea what you act like then.”

The man nods. “That's a good idea maybe. Lie to me.”

Well, okay. That's easier. Martha grins, then she says with complete conviction: “I'm white.”

That makes Matt chuckle and he turns to Trish: “My senses tell me that's a lie. Is it? I wouldn't know.”

The white woman now for the first time seems to almost crack a real smile, too, when she confirms it to him. But she also sobers up quickly. “Now back to the truth. And this one is very important: Did you ever think that people sometimes listen to the Doctor, like they follow his orders without question?”

Now that gives Martha a pause, because she has seen that happen sometimes. She always assumed it was his personality making people act this way around him. He kind of charms or irritates people into obeying him. “They do, maybe. Sometimes. But I don't think this is about some sort of mind control. He just usually makes very convincing points…”

“But if he orders you to run. You do it without thinking, don't you?” Wow, how did she get this so specifically right?

“I mean, yeah, if you put it like that… But I trust him. I trust that he knows what to do.”

“Did he ever tell you to trust him?”

To be entirely honest, she's not really sure. “I don't recall, but it's not like I listen to him all the time. In fact, I think he needs someone around who stops him sometimes.”

“And he lets you...?”

Martha nods. "He has faith in me."

“So, what's this thing?” Trish presents the sonic screwdriver to her.

“It’s a very useful tool to open doors, repair stuff or investigate. I don't know all its functions… But it's not a weapon!” What would freak these guys out, though, would probably be the fact that the Doctor is - like his ship - a bit of a telepath and he lies a whole lot. He certainly has the ability to manipulate people and she's not entirely sure that he doesn't have or know a technology that could control a person. She is however certain that he wouldn't use it. Although, with their line of questioning, maybe she wouldn't be able to tell...

And that finally makes Martha realise the horror these people must have been up against. The part where you don't even know what is your own idea anymore... There’s a strange shift in the air, before Trish utters her next question. “Did this man ever tell you to… kiss him?”

Martha stares at Trish in disbelief. And a shiver runs down her spine. But then she thinks of a memory that really was rather pleasant. Oh, she would do that in an instant if he told her to. He did kiss her once, but sadly, that was only to transfer DNA and he even apologised before doing it. Not that she minded. Suddenly Martha realises that she must have zoned out, because Trish is now looking at her with a raised eyebrow and way too much concern. She doesn't want her to get the wrong idea here. "NO, it's not what you're thinking..."

Luckily that's when Matt takes over. “Okay, this isn't helping. Martha, tell me, did this man ever make you kill anyone?”

“What?! No way! He always tells people not to kill each other and, really, usually I wish they would listen to him more often.”

“Happy, Trish?” Matt smiles. “It's not him. Also, the guy is awake now. He's been listening for a while actually....”

Martha then looks at the Doctor who still can’t talk because of the tape over his mouth and he looks like he's still sleeping. But obviously, he was just pretending, so he now opens those big expressive eyes and looks at her. And he has obviously heard all of that. Sometimes she’d really like to know what's going on in that big head of his.

His expression is one of grief. The kind that she only saw glimpses of from time to time, whenever mankind was disappointing him or the stories of the people they met really got to him. Suddenly Martha remembers that he somehow knows who these vigilantes are. That he knows their names and either their past or their future.

“Doctor…? Are you okay?” Martha sees him sigh and then he gestures with his head in a particular direction. Matt immediately jumps up and grabs the phone from the table. He then takes the screwdriver from Trish and offers both to their hostage. He wants the Doctor's help to save the boy, of course.

Did he forget that the man is tied up? They stare at each other and Trish looks just as puzzled as her. Really, the Doctor should use this as leverage, but he wouldn't. Instead he shrugs and he lets all the robe fall down, while Matt drops everything and holds Trish in place, whispering something into her ear. Before Martha can make sense of what's going on, the Doctor has the tape off to yell excitedly: “Everybody, dance!”

He has his eyebrows raised, now grinning at all the stunned faces, except Matt who must have been aware that he could have done something like this all this time. “Does anyone feel like following my order? No? Now with that out of the way…”

He takes the screwdriver and opens the phone with a buzz. “Who here feels like rescuing a child from kidnappers?”


	3. Breaking the Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Martha gets her nice little break. 
> 
> Well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish you all a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. Or happy holidays! :D

“You were brilliant!”, the Doctor beams at Martha. 

“So were you. The way you just waltzed in there and offered them to leave without taking a beating… You made a pretty good case for it. I think in most places it actually would have worked.” It is like a magic trick, really. Even men with guns think you’re dangerous if you just act confident enough. They think you must have an ace up your sleeve. Well, until they realize that you're mostly just insane and someone is sneakily stealing their hostage.

“I guess, it was a good enough distraction for you and Matt to find the boy, while we locked the doors, so they couldn't all follow you…” He is glancing at Trish then who looks like she's thinking about something else entirely while she's leading them to her apartment to have a little Christmas Dinner and celebrate. She says it's a lot cozier there than it is at Matt's.

“And Trish, ... thank you.” Martha can see the woman who tried to kill him just a few hours ago release a sigh. “At first I thought you were attacking me, but then I saw that one of the criminals had pulled a gun on me and I realised you tackled me to the ground to save me.” 

She also made sure they got away safely. Martha didn't really trust her before, but the Doctor insisted on working with Hellcat during their rescue mission, while she teamed up with Daredevil. He was obviously hellbend on winning her over. And to some extent he must have achieved that. When Martha hugged the Doctor in relief as they met again after saving the boy she even saw a small smile appear below the vigilante's mask. She almost couldn't believe it and then Trish even invited them over and to her huge surprise the Doctor actually agreed. He was even pretty excited about it, while she expected him to want to get away from them as fast as possible.

“Well, after you mended Matt’s broken bone I already felt a bit bad about my behaviour, but watching you was still unsettling.” Trish swallows and even without seeing her eyes Martha knows that she still feels that way. “Even seeing you confront those criminals as if they couldn’t really harm you felt extremely eery. It was just like Kilgrave.” 

From the expression the Doctor wears Martha can tell that it truly disturbs him what his appearance does to that woman. “Only the fact that they didn’t follow your orders broke the spell finally. And just in time, I might add." Martha isn't sure what a bullet from a gun whould do to the Doctor, but she's glad they didn't find out this time. "And I'm not sure we would have found the boy in time without your help. So, thank you.” 

The Doctor smiles at her, but he still looks a bit haunted, like he’s somehow responsible for whatever this creep who looked like him did. Just typical, the whole weight of the world on his shoulders again.

Martha thinks she is gonna have to distract them from that topic. “But it was also cool to see you guys in action a little. That was quite a show...” She isn't really used to having the kind of backup that can actually fight off a group of five attackers single handedly. That was quite a luxury for this little trip.

Taking the boy by the hand Martha ran as fast as she could, but it's never that easy, is it? The kidnappers tried to cut off their escape route and that's where the Devil of Hell's Kitchen came in to kick and flip their way free. He even held the door open for her with a big smile like a gentleman and not a guy in a weird getup. Then to both their surprise the boy threw his arms around his hero thanking him and making him blush awkwardly. That's when Martha decided that Matt should bring the boy home instead of her.

“Was he showing off again? He always does that, can’t help it really.” Trish smirks. “When he fights, he lets go of everything that holds him back in his everyday life. It's like he's fighting his own demons sometimes.” 

Knowing now what he was like in real life Martha has an idea what Trish wants to say with that, but they are both still a mystery to her. She still doesn't really understand whatever makes them do all this.

“But you also make a good team,” the Doctor points out.

“We do. Wasn't always like this, though. I had to force him to train me. He didn't want to put me in danger, yadda yadda… He was going to get killed sooner rather than later doing all this alone, so I kept pushing.” 

“It's always better to have good company.” The Doctor grins at Martha and she returns it easily, still feeling privileged that he asked her out of all people to come with him on his adventures. Although she didn't know what she was getting herself into and he doesn't even return her feelings the same way. Maybe he never will. He had told her that he traveled alone before they met, because he lost someone. But doing all this by himself  wasn’t good for him, or for anyone else really. She knows that he needs someone by his side which is going to make this a lot harder to say goodbye to. At some point she has to go back to her own life, though. She has to leave him and she just hopes he’ll find someone new to take along.

Martha banishes all these thoughts as soon as they arrive at Trish’s place and Matt also joins them some time later. When Trish opens the door for him she immediately pulls him into a kiss by his tie, making him almost drop the groceries in surprise. She then cups his face staring into his useless but nice and kind eyes. “Brought the kid to his parents?”

Leaving another peck on her cheek he smiles. “Safe and sound.” 

Matt walks around the kitchen counter then putting his ingredients for a big festive meal down. He gets to work on it with Trish’s help, although from the way they are bickering, she's not much of a cook. But the new groceries don’t have braille labels like the rest of Trish’s kitchen, so he can use some assistance from her. They also refuse their guests' help which means Martha and the Doctor have to wait at their table uselessly.

That's the moment she realises: “I’ve never seen you stick around like this. Why here?” Why at a place where he had to feel uncomfortable, especially with Trish still acting a bit strange towards him. Martha even has the suspicion that the woman could try to poison him this way after all. But why save him then?

The Doctor also makes all her worries disappear waggling his eyebrows like he's really not concerned anymore. “Who says this meal isn't going to be adventurous?”

Then they just watch them cook for a bit. Trish now just sticks to giving Matt the ingredients and it looks like he has a very precise idea what amount he needs. Martha is also stunned again when his girlfriend addresses him as counselor. "Is he a lawyer...? How does that work with breaking the law all the time?"

"You find that harder to accept than the way he fights despite being blind?"

"Well... maybe. I'm good with weird. Complete contradictions, though..."

The Doctor chuckles. "To me you humans are all full of contradictions. I spend most of my life pointing them out to you."

"Do you know why they do it? Trish and Matt, I mean....?" Maybe the Doctor has an answer to it. He knows who they are after all. And he's quite good at reading people.

"Did you see the cross in his apartment? Matt's very Catholic I think and we've seen how far he's ready to go in his fight for justice." Going by the dark look on his face he still hasn't forgotten about the torture part. "He feels guilty about it, though. And I have this theory that his hearing is far better than mine. He knows when people lie, can probably tell by their heartbeat. My guess is, he kept hearing the crimes happening around the city and decided to do something about it one day..."

Martha looks at Matt and catches his little nod with Trish being unaware of their conversation. "And what about her...?"

"All signs of an abusive childhood. She was a victim and that's why there's no reluctance to use extreme violence against certain type of criminals." Okay, that's what Martha was thinking, too.

"Kilgrave?"

The Doctor considers that for a second. "I don't think so. I think that's more about Jessica..."

He’s probably right about that. Just like he is  right about the meal, of course. Sure, they had more exotic food on other planets, but Matt Murdock is one amazing chef. A man with maybe similarly enhanced senses would know that he would be good at that, of course. The Doctor even makes the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen blush with all the praise of his culinary skills.

But somehow he still sticks to telling them stories without mentioning time travel or aliens and it can't be because he thinks they can't handle it, especially after Matt mentions his zombie ex-girlfriend who apparently died for him. It kills the mood for a couple of minutes, until Trish starts talking about Matt’s best friend Foggy who sounds like he’d be the life of any party while his buddy apparently rather enjoys them quietly, if at all. Well, they would have to be very loud to him. 

Martha also gets the opportunity to ask Trish about some celebrities she has met, most of which the Doctor has never heard of. They end up making a game out of it that Martha calls “creep or no creep”, which Matt finds slightly offensive, so instead they start playing “prince or no prince” to the Doctor’s annoyance. “Come on, there's so much to see and explore in the world for you guys. Why does it always get back to fairy tales and princes…?”

“You think lords are better, Doctor?” Martha winks and the ancient time lord pouts like a nine year old.

And finally, Trish - who’s still a bit nervous around the man who looks like Kilgrave - asks the question that must have been bothering her all day, the one Martha also didn't get an answer to yet: “Doctor, how do you know our names…?”

He buys a little time using a napkin. “We share an… acquaintance. But I'm sorry, I just can't tell you who it is.”

Matt frowns. “Is it secret agency stuff?”

“Yeah, exactly. That's it.” Martha however knows that face the time traveler makes. It has something to do with their future and he can't tell them, because of his stupid rules. Don't interfere with established events, don't change the past. That’s usually not a good sign.

“I'm just glad to see you're all well.”

Suddenly Matt tilts his head like he’s hearing something or someone. Then he looks alarmed and jumps up from his chair. “Jessica is outside.”

The Doctor looks amazed at that. “How far exactly can you hear?”

“Doc, you’ve got to hide!” Trish then grabs his arm and pulls him away from the table to shove him into her room and then a cupboard with Martha’s help.

But the alien doesn't want to hide. “Are you sure, this is really necessary? Can't you just tell her that I'm not-”

“NO, she'd think you ordered us to have dinner with you." Trish tries to push him in roughly. "You really don't understand how this looks and she’ll want to kill you or she’d get a major PTSD attack. Both things, we’re trying to avoid here.” 

Reluctantly, the Doctor obeys. When Martha and Trish step out of her room again, Jessica is already standing there asking Matt why there are more plates on the table than people they know. “And who are you?”

“I'm…” Martha is a bit surprised, to say the least. After everything she heard about Jessica and the way these people wanted to shield her from some emotional trauma, the angry black haired woman with a leather jacket is so not what she had expected to see.

“Can someone explain?” 

Trish hurries to make something up. “Jessica, this is Martha. We've just had a talk on the radio about travel tips and we got along really well….”

“Bullshit. Who else is here?”

“There's nobody else, Jessica. The last plate is for you. Come on, have something.” Matt pulls the chair back for her to sit, but Jessica still fixes him with a death glare.

“For a fucking lie detector you're a pathetic liar, Matt.” Jessica growls and points at Trish: “You didn't even invite me. And you just came out of your room hiding someone in there.”

“No, I was just showing Martha some clothes. She wanted to borrow something for an event…”

Martha nods slowly. “Right, I forgot to pack something fancy and-”

Jessica just storms into Trish’s room opening one cupboard after the other - and she really has a lot of those, but that shouldn't be her concern right now. Trish did mention that Jessica does have special strength. If she punches someone with full force....

As she quickly gets to the door the Doctor is hiding behind Martha hopes that he was somehow able to pull one of his tricks. But, to her horror the door opens to a smiling Doctor who waves at the angry woman in front of him like she's not about to kill him.

“You!”


	4. Different Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, some timey wimey stuff in the end. Here we go... ;)

Martha jumps in front of the Doctor without thinking about it. “He’s not who you think he is!”

“He’s the Doctor,” Jessica states in a surprisingly calm voice and Martha doesn't even register at first what this woman is saying. 

“This is jus-” She stops confused by Jessica’s lack of action and the fact that she doesn't look too concerned about the man’s appearance either, as if she already knows.... Oh, wait a second...

“You know him?” Why the hell didn’t he just tell them all from the beginning?

“Is Jessica that acquaintance you mentioned earlier?”, Matt now asks helpfully.

The Doctor is still staring at the woman while she shrugs almost nonchalantly. “Saw him a week ago when he dropped into by office with his weird spaceship that looks like a public toilet or something…”

“It's a police box,” the Doctor provides uselessly, looking a bit annoyed now, because nobody insults his amazing ship - that never brings them where they want to go. Also, those police boxes don't even exist anywhere anymore… not in Britain and certainly not in the rest of the world. If people recognize that police box, it's because they have met the Doctor. So why insist on calling it that?

“Right. It's a police box. You said that last time, too.” Jessica shakes her head like she still can't really believe any of this madness. “And then you told me I’d come here and find you right here in Trish’s room. And here you are with that face again...”

The Doctor’s eyes widen at that information. “You mean, I changed my appearance?”

“You don't remember?! That was just a week ago. I knocked you out, thought I killed you actually and then you just jumped up looking and acting like a different man asking me for help.”

“Well, of course, I remember. Who wouldn’t remember Jessica Jones?” The Doctor shrugs and he just stares at all the confused faces.

“Why didn't you just mention that she knows you?” Another good question from Matt, but the longer Martha follows their conversation the more she gets the impression that the Doctor doesn't really know what exactly went down between him and Jessica, because it hasn't happened to him yet. 

He merely explains that his spaceship is bigger on the inside - a lot bigger actually - and that he is an alien who can change his face, if needed. He makes it sound like he did it because Jessica apparently tried to kill him, as if he can do it in case of an emergency and then change back. 

Jessica still isn't happy with that explanation. “So, you know the future of a person...”

“You could say I tap into people’s destiny sometimes. I know it sounds unbelievable, but I’ve got an idea what people’s fate might be.” That is, again, something he had told Martha, too. He said that he can sense these so called fixed points in time that can't be avoided and he knows when there is a fortune of possibilities as well. When things can still happen in various ways and aren't carved in stone.

“Okay…” Trish struggles to grasp what all this means. “Can we please sit down for this? I think this is going to be a longer conversation and I'm gonna need a drink for it.”

Jessica still eyes the Doctor with apprehension. “Yeah… me too.”

While the alien tries to explain to their new friends roughly what this strange encounter with Jessica had been about, without having a clue himself, Martha tries to come up with her own version of what it all means. He still doesn’t exactly give them the tell-all edition of who he is and what his spaceship does. What it boils down to is this however: He can't just tell anyone about their future, because that might influence their decisions. 

It's a lot to wrap your head around. Trish however is very keen on getting a hint of what might be in store for them while Matt looks like he wouldn't dare asking. As if he already doesn't expect to hear anything good. In the end the Doctor gives in a little bit and just tells them ominously to not give up on hope.

During the discussion Jessica has been pretty much silent and she doesn't seem to buy it all, Martha thinks. Maybe she did her own research over the past week and finally the Doctor decides to ask her a question: “What did I look like?”

Jessica sits back in her chair with her bottle of Whiskey and eyes him bitterly. “Not like a rapist.”

“Right…” He’s been looking anywhere else, but then those impossibly sad eyes land on Jessica and he says: “I'm so, so sorry.”

Martha heard him say that before and she’s still struck by how sincere he is about these things.

“It's not your fault.” Jessica shakes her head with a frown, as if she's telling herself the same thing all the time.

“No… but I just wish I could do something to change it.” The Doctor must have seen many tragedies in his long life, but one person’s fate can still affect him somehow. As adamant as he is about this one rule they can’t ever break, he's probably the one who wants to do it more than anything many times.

“If it helps: I think whenever I get a flashback of him now I’ll try to think of you instead.” Jessica swallows and looks away. But not before Martha sees the tears in her eyes. “He was never able to apologise like that.”

Everyone gives Jessica some space after that intense exchange and finally the Doctor returns to Martha’s side. She knows what's coming next. It's time to leave, time to say goodbye.

“I think we should get going again.”

Martha smiles at everyone, feeling both relieved and a bit sad at the same time. “Thank you so much for your hospitality.”

Trish is the first to hug her. “Take care of your... friend. And you're always welcome back here as well.” To the Doctor she at least offers her hand and a warm smile. “Sorry for hitting you.”

“I think I was lucky that that was all you did.” 

Matt is even gives the alien a hug as well. It's probably easier for him to warm up to the man, since he never saw his doppelganger. “Thanks again for helping us out with the kidnapping and for healing me with that thing.” He points at the sonic screwdriver.

“You’re welcome. You should really be more careful about keeping your bones intact though...”

The vigilante smiles. “Appreciate the concern, Doctor. But I know what I'm doing.”

“Nobody is denying that.” Martha grins at the Devil who was her very helpful backup in getting that boy to safety. She immediately finds herself in his embrace, thinking that Trish is a very lucky girl. Mostly. “Listen to him, Matt. He’s usually right.”

It's Jessica’s turn to say goodbye then and the tension is still there. She shakes both their hands with a tight smile. “I don't think I want to see you like this again, no offence. But I'm glad to see you're alive. Wasn't so sure you would be…”

On their way back to the ship they stay silent, because that farewell is a bit difficult to shake off and Martha also isn't buying the Doctor’s attempts to act all cheery again as they arrive at the TARDIS. “You know more than you admit. Is it about what's going to happen to them…? Are they going to die?”

The Doctor doesn't meet her eyes, instead he uses seemingly random switches on the controls. “We all die someday…”

“Well, you won't, at least not for a long time. Even if Jessica kills you, you’ll keep going with that new face she saw…” At least, that's what he had told her. “Are we going to back to last week now?” She is a bit curious what that new Doctor will look like. Maybe it'll be easier to say goodbye to a new man. 

He stares at nothing for a moment and then his features slowly turn back into the happy Doctor-expression she is used to. It just lacks the spark. “I don't think I want to go just yet. It’s not like I have an unlimited amount of regenerations...” 

That is actually news to Martha. She always considered him to be near invincible and close to immortal, from a human’s perspective at least. And suddenly she remembers the fact that Jessica didn't even see her with the Doctor and it bothers her. Did Martha leave him or did something happen to her….? When is he going to come back to Hell’s Kitchen? The woman also didn't mention anyone else traveling with him. Was he alone again? 

“How many of those lives do you have left….?”

“Enough.” But the obviously fake smile on his face gives her a different answer. Maybe after living for that long the idea of mortality is harder to accept than she expected. Is he scared of changing or of dying? 

It's easier to act like everything is fine and slowly Martha is starting to accept that the Doctor doesn't want to talk about this. After pretending for a bit it slowly feels more and more genuine again. She even sees that good old twinkle in his eyes when he asks: “So, what do you think? Should we give Dzklvcf another try?”

 

* * *

 

**A week ago (or a whole lot later for the Doctor):**

A strange foreign sound makes Jessica look up from her laptop and what she sees makes her think that the last glass might have been one too many. There is a strange blue box materialising in her office. It looks like a wooden phone booth or something…

The thing just stands there for a minute and she has no clue what to make of it. Should she be alarmed? Otherworldly stuff like this is rarely good, is it? Then with a screech the door opens slowly and a man stumbles out, hunched over as if he is in pain. Jessica stands up, ready to attack or help, whatever is required here. With one hand on her desk he keeps his body from falling to the ground. His fingers also seem to be glowing with a weird yellow light.

“You're not going to explode in my office, are you?” Maybe talking will make sense of what crazy shit is going on here. Since the man seems to be in pain he doesn't look like much of a threat, though. So, when he falls down she jumps into action, thinking this stranger might need her help.

She runs around her desk, still ready to defend herself in case he suddenly attacks, but she freezes in place when she finally sees his face, because she recognises it, even all distorted in agony: “Fucking hell…”

He struggles to open his eyes and look back at her, but it seems like even that itself must hurt too much. Good. Between clenched teeth he forces some unintelligible words out and she thinks that she should maybe snap his neck again, but nobody else can hear him like this. He can’t harm anyone and since she was immune to his orders the last time she saw him, she feels safe watching him suffer like this. Even better: She enjoys it.

Then she starts to understand some of the words he keeps uttering, not that she cares: “Step away… please.” He seems to repeat them as well, getting more and more agitated. It's almost like it was when they had him in that water tank where they could electrocute him. When she felt like she was in control and he was again somehow manipulating them, acting all… human.

As he struggles to get back to that box he crawled out of she kicks him away from it. No, she can't exactly let him flee again. Jessica steps in front of him and watches some more, until she realises that his pain isn't making her feel better after all. In fact it has the opposite effect. It makes her pity him and that makes her feel worse. And his mumbling changes as well: “I'm… I'm not…”

But he can't go on, too preoccupied with all that agony torturing him and in the end something feels different about him. Maybe it's the fact that he’s begging, but Jessica decides she wants to end his suffering, so with one kick to his head she make the twitching and the moaning stop with immediate effect. The longer she stares at his lifeless form she notices more and more differences. He looks a bit younger she thinks and also his clothes are very different. Sure, he’s still wearing a suit, but Kilgrave always liked the colour purple and there is none of it on him now. Also, the chucks seem very misplaced on him. But he can't be-

Jessica jumps when the yellow light is back, now engulfing him completely and getting stronger by the second. Was that why he told her to get away? Was he trying to warn her…?!

When her desk catches fire Jessica runs to the bathroom to get some water and she throws it on the flames, stopping them from spreading. She turns around to another strange man with a different face, more chin and less eyebrows, almost jumping on his feet next to her. He’s still wearing the same clothes, so it must be the same guy, but somehow Jessica now realises that this freaky character might not be Kilgrave… He’s just a man who’s apparently very lucky that she didn't kill him for coming to her. If this is the universe’s idea of a joke it's a very bad one.

“Who or what the fuck are you?”

He seems oddly relieved to still have legs and arms, but the longer hair irritates him for some reason.

“I'm a girl?!” His hand flies to his Adam’s apple and he seems to be relieved to find one there. She probably should be focusing on the fact that this man looked like her tormentor a second ago, but she can't help being annoyed with that remark. “What’s wrong about being a girl...?”

“No, no… there’s nothing wrong with it,” the weird man hurries to clarify. “I've just never been one before.” Then he looks like he’s seriously thinking about that for a moment. “Maybe I should try that one day. Could be fun. And I might not get mixed up with a guy like that again then…”

Jessica observes the guy while he keeps checking his features and noticing that he’s apparently “still” not ginger. Some of that yellow energy is streaming from his hand now and he seems to realise that as well, in the same moment she does. “I think I'm not done cooking yet- Aaargh…” The man doubles over in pain again. Now his legs are glowing, making it difficult to walk she assumes. “Still the old legs then. Oookay… Do you mind helping me back into my spaceship before I burn your entire building down..?”

Is he talking about that blue box? For a spaceship that thing looks a bit small, but it's not like she ever saw one… Jessica has a lot of questions then, but she also remembers what that glowing energy did to her desk, so she decides to help him up after all. 

“I'm the Doctor, by the way.”

Okay, not the weirdest thing he said to her so far. “Why the fuck did you look like a psychopath then, only a minute ago?”

“Aaah… it's one of my little quirks, I guess.” There's a goofy grin on his face now. “No time to explain. Also, I don't want to bore you with the same story twice and you’ll find me in Trish’s room in about a week again.”

“Will you take this space loo to get there as well?”

“Oi! I’ll have you know that that is a police box! I mean, of course, there are toilet facilities in there as well. Can't have my friends pee themselves-” There's another flash of pain visible in his expression, so he cuts off the rambling he was just launching into. “I’ll tell you next time. But I'll be looking like him then, just so you know...”

No. Jessica might have accepted that this freak isn't Kilgrave, but seeing that face again… “I don't think so.”

She opens the door and he insists he can take it from there shutting it after him, before she can get a glimpse of what is inside. 

Then there’s silence and Jessica stares at the closed door, not sure if she should go in and check on the guy. She did kick his head in because she mistook him for someone else. Maybe she could have killed him with that even. The least she could do is make sure that he gets away safely, she thinks. But before she can make up her mind the entire box starts to shake. It gets worse and worse and suddenly the door opens a bit again, yellow light streaming out of the slit and the Doctor’s head pops out, messy hair all over the place.

“Thanks for your help. And don't worry.” She’s not worried. “I just have to figure out my new kinks now. See you in a week!”

He waves and then disappears again, before the box starts rumbling as if he is fighting some dragon in there. Jessica tries to open the door, but it's locked and then the whole thing slowly fades away with the same sound she heard when it came.

Jessica stares at the place it's been standing for a minute. Why the fuck did she help that weirdo?! She doesn't even recall him ordering her to do so or something like that. 

Well, if anyone else has seen that guy or his weird excuse of a “spaceship”, she’ll probably be able to find out about it online and she has a week to decide if she should do something about him…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could get back to this at some point, if someone is interested. :)
> 
> Yip, the Eleventh Doctor thought he was a girl for a second. I even checked again to make sure that I was remembering that correctly.
> 
> In case any Whovians have read this: Imagine the Doctor in my version of events thinking that he won't regenerate until he goes to Jessica and then realising that he has to see her on his farewell tour. She is the last one he visits and her reaction to his face also makes it easier to move on for him… :)  
> After that he of course still crashes the TARDIS in Amy Pond’s garden...


End file.
